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Millions of us have them but with so many functions it is almost impossible to know every trick that your iPhone is capable of.

But the Apple devices are full of little surprises that could make your life much easier... or just save you a few valuable seconds.

There are plenty of hidden, shortcuts, tips and tricks that, unless you are a tech whizz kid you may not be aware even exist.

And even if you sat down and read your way through the instruction manual on day one - with regular iOS updates more functions are added.

The L iverpool Echo has collated a big list of the secret tools and tips that teach you everything from how to charge your device faster to recovering deleted photos.

Although bear in mind some won't work on the new iPhone X as it doesn't come with a Home button.

Here are 28 things you may, or may not, know you could do with your iPhone.

1. Making a discreet emergency call

(Image: Liverpool Echo)

This is only available to iPhone users with iOS 11 - so you will need to update your device if you haven’t already in order to access this feature.

If you have an iPhone X, iPhone 8, or iPhone 8 Plus:

Press and hold the side button and one of the volume buttons until the Emergency SOS slider appears.

Drag the Emergency SOS slider to call emergency services.

If you continue to hold down the side button and volume button, instead of dragging the slider, a countdown begins and an alert sounds.

If you hold down the buttons until the countdown ends, your iPhone automatically calls emergency services.

Here’s how to make the call on iPhone 7 or earlier:

Rapidly press the side button five times. The Emergency SOS slider will appear. (In India, you only need to press the button three times, then your iPhone automatically calls emergency services.)

Drag the Emergency SOS slider to call emergency services.

2. How to make your device charge quicker

(Image: Liverpool Echo)

This is quick a simple trick and can be used on any of Apple’s models and versions.

By turning your phone to Flightmode when charging it will speed up the process.

You can access Flightmode by swiping up and clicking on the plane icon.

3. Hold focal point

Most users will already know when using the camera it will try and find a focal point, but as soon as you move your phone this point is lost.

However, instead of just tapping the screen, press it for a second or two until an ‘AF Locked’ box pops up, this locks in the focal point meaning you can twist, turn and swing the thing around without losing focus.

4. Changing the six digit lock back to a four digit code

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Anyone using any update from iOS9 will be aware that Apple now requires you to use a six-digit code instead of the original four-digit one.

This change hasn’t gone down too well, with many users finding the extra digits frustrating.

To turn it back go to Settings - Touch ID and Passcode - change passcode

Type in your current six-digit passcode - then it will say change passcode and offer space for six digits again, however underneath it will say ‘passcode options’ it then gives you the option to select a four-digit one.

5. Medical ID

This is useful if you ever find yourself in an emergency.

To set it up Open Health and tap Medical ID; Edit then Enter your emergency contacts and health information like your birth date, height, and blood type.

Turn on ‘Show When Locked’ to make your Medical ID available from the Lock screen.

In an emergency, this gives people who want to help some important information, like the emergency contacts that you’ve entered.

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6. Set your music to a timer

(Image: Handout)

Most of us will have used the timer option when cooking or exercising before, but did you know you can actually set your music to a timer too?

Click on the timer, underneath where it gives you the length of times it says ‘When timer ends’ click on this and stroll to the bottom where you will see ‘stop playing’ by selecting this it means that your music will stop playing after the time slot you choose.

It’s ideal for anyone who falls asleep listening to music.

7. Improve battery life

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Longer battery life is what many iPhone users wish for.

One of the main reasons for the short battery life is due to apps running in the background.

But, there is now a way you can turn off Spotlight- which is Apple’s service for connecting key data and services to help apps run.

Go to Settings - General - Spotlight Search and you can limit what is pulling in the data in the background.

8. Check signal strength

Is there anything worse than being desperate to send that text but your signal is poor or being in the middle of a phone call and the connection breaks?

Well, now you can find out where the best place for a strong signal is where ever you are.

Type *3001#12345#* into your phone’s dialling keypad and press call.

This then will launch a hidden Field Test tool.

At the top on the left hand side you will then see a ‘-’ sign followed by a number. It is the number which indicates if you have good signal where you are.

A score of -50 is what you are aiming for, with -120 being pretty poor.

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9. Delete without lifting a finger

Anyone who has shaken their phone whether in anger or just by mistaken may know about this already.

You can delete anything you are writing in your notes by shaking you phone.

A box will then pop up asking it you do actually want to undo typing or it was a mistake.

10. How to turn on iPhone’s secret keyboard

(Image: Handout)

Apple have introduced a secret one-handed keyboard in the latest version of iOS 11 which makes it easier creating a message.

How to find it: Press and hold the small emoji (or globe) icon that appears to the left of the space key.

Holding it down will result in a pop-up menu that gives you the option of scrunching the buttons to the left or the right of the screen.

If you’re using a Plus version of the iPhone 6, 7 or 8, the result will be a keyboard closer in size to the one on the smaller 4.7-inch version of that device.

Apple has made this work on a system level, so the keyboard will stay in the one-handed mode, across different apps, until you change it back.

11. Overcome any iOS11 crashes

For anyone who may still be dealing with any crashes by iOS11, we know how to fix them.

Affected iPhone users can go into the time and date settings and set the date back to a time before December 2 - such as November 30.

12. Take a photo while shooting a video

This is really simple.

Next time you are filming a video and want to also take a photo, just tap the white button in the bottom left hand corner and it will take a photo while your video still runs.

13. Switching between apps

(Image: Handout)

This is by no means a new trick but nevertheless some users may not be aware.

By holding down the home button you can switch between the apps you have running.

If you have an iPhone X then simply sweep up from the bottom of the screen and hold for a second. The open apps will then appear if you then hold your thumb on one, a minus icon will appear in the corner and you will be bale to sweep up to close them.

14. Send a message when you reject a call

Next time you’re in a meeting and your phone goes, you can opt to send a text to the person calling you.

To set the service up go to Settings- Phone - Respond With Text and this will allow you to create your own message.

15. Message send time

If you go to your messages, and swipe left on a certain one, you can see exactly what time you sent it.

16. Save battery

(Image: Handout)

It is Apple’s way of helping users save battery and it automatically kicks in when you reach 20%.

However, you can have this on all the time, even when you are still on 100% battery life.

To activate Go to Settings- Battery -Low Power Mode

This reduces power consumption. When this is on, mail fetch, background app refresh, automatic downloads and some visual effects are reduced or turned off.

17. Do not disturb

(Image: Handout)

The ‘Do Not Disturb’ function will stop your iPhone from sending you any notifications, alerts or calls while the screen is locked.

It will also stop any noise and vibrations if your phone isn’t already on silent.

To activate go to Settings- Do Not Disturb.

18. Mute words

(Image: Handout)

This one applies to Twitter really, but it is easier to do when using the Twitter app.

Go to your profile and select settings. There is then the option called ‘Muted words’

You can then type in anything you don’t want to see and how long you don’t want to see it for.

Perfect if you’re behind on a television series which everyone is talking about.

19. Text replacement

(Image: Handout)

This option can be found by going to Settings - General - Keyboard - Text Replacement .

To create your own shortcuts, tap the plus sign in the upper right corner to open a screen with two entry fields.

In the top field, Phrase, enter the text you want to quickly retype in other places on iOS. Below that, enter a text shortcut that will subsequently be recognized by iOS 9 and automatically replaced with the longer phrase you just entered.

20. How to activate the cursor

This is only available on models starting from the iPhone 7.

If you hold down on the screen you finger becomes like a cursor- making deleting letters from certain words that little bit easier.

21. Film your screen

Again this is another trick that is only available on the iOS11.

Go to Settings - Control Center - Customise Controls, then tap the plus sign next to Screen Recording.

Swipe up to show the control centre, tap the record icon and then wait three seconds, you can stop the recording by tapping the red icon at the top of the screen.

It’s great if you want to show somebody how to do something.

22. Night Shift

Night Shift is all about a change in colour.

The company originally introduced Night Shift in iOS 9.3 as a way to make screens a little easier on the eyes at night.

It was previously a button in the control centre which it may still be if you are yet to update to the latest software update.

But for those who have, it can now be found in the brightness settings. Just tap the night shift button and your phone will adjust the amount of blue light it is emitting.

Apple claim it helps you sleep better.

23. Moving apps

This has been a function since the iPhone first launched.

But just in case you didn’t already know, if you hold down your finger over one of the apps they become moveable.

24. Removing messages on WhatsApp

This is a new feature for WhatsApp, but you can now delete selected messages in conversation threads instead of having to delete the whole conversation.

You just need to hold the message you wish to delete and swipe right, the message will then drop to the bottom where an ‘x’ will appear if you do wish to delete it.

25. Lower torch brightness

Swipe upward from the bottom of your screen to open the Control Center.

The brightness control works through 3D touch so instead of tapping the flashlight button, press on it to register a 3D touch.

The 3D touch menu will appear with three options; Low Light, Medium Light, and Bright Light.

Tap any one of these options to turn the flashlight on.

Depending on which option you tapped, the flashlight will be bright or dim accordingly.

26. Recover deleted images

There is now a way to get any photos you may have deleted back.

IPhones now have a deleted images folder where you can recover any thrown away snaps for up to 30 days before they are removed for good.

It is at the very bottom of your photo albums, after screenshots and any other folders you may have created.

27. Save storage with photo optimisation

Along with battery life another annoyance for IPhone users is storage.

To make the most of yours go to Settings- photos and click on ‘optimise photo storage’.

This means full resolution photos and video will be replaced with optimised versions will the full res ones being automatically saved to your icloud.

28. Tell Siri how to pronounce words

Speaking to Siri can be difficult at times, but there is now a way to make your relationship with the robotic tool that little bit better.

Next time Siri pronounces a word or name of your contact wrong if you reply by saying “That’s not how your pronounce it” you can then say the word how it should be.